30 day Vegan challenge

Whenever a new month starts, I know some of you enjoy challenging yourselves to something new. The first challenge I ever completed successfully was a 30 day vegan challenge before I decided to make it a lifestyle and the benefits were great.

If you are up for a challenge, I challenge you to 30 days free from animal and animal byproducts. Let’s give it a try guys I know you can do it. To my seafood lovers, you’re going to have to give up that seafood for 30 days as well. I know it sounds tough but I promise it’s worth it.

I’ve developed a 30 day plan for you guys if you are serious about committing to this challenge.

Before you begin this challenge, ask yourself how this can benefit you. The hardest part about challenging yourself to do anything new is NOT having a purpose. Let’s get right into it with what to eat.

Breakfast

Fruit

Fruit smoothies

Toast with or without avocado

Cereal with almond milk

Oatmeal (add fruit and maple syrup for more flavor)

Home fries (I add onions, peppers and even spinach to my home fries)

Hash browns

Tofu scramble (least favorite but worth a try)

If you are a coffee lover and you stop for coffee in the morning, you can still have your coffee just add soy almond milk or any dairy free milk

Lunch– Meal prepping is a great way to go

Meatless chili (you can also have for dinner with rice)

Fries and veggie burger (Gardein has a great veggie burger, great for dinner as well)

If you have others that you cook for, you can continue to cook as you normally do, just eat the sides. Ex. If you’re making chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes, just eat the green beans and mash, replace regular butter with vegan butter and milk with almond milk for your mashed potatoes. If you think this is not enough to fill you up, add a third side like corn on the cob.

Pizza-use vegan pizza dough, sauce and add veggies, you don’t need cheese but if you do, use Daiya mozzarella

Pasta

You can sauté veggies (any veggie will work) add lemon, olive oil and seasonings and mix your pasta in with fresh basil

You can add veggies and tomato sauce to your pasta as well.

Vegetable fried rice

Rice with any sautéed veggie is great as well, add teriyaki sauce or soy sauce for extra flavor

Your options are unlimited I promise so be creative and make your pasta or rice any way you like with the exclusion of meat, seafood and dairy.

Snacks

Hummus (I like Sabre brand) and wheat thins

Guacamole or salsa with chips

Fruit

Lays plain or BBQ chips (or any dairy free chip)

PB&J is also great for a snack

Peanuts

If you are on the go and do not have time to cook, here is list of great options to choose from that have options Vegans:

Chipotle

Naf Naf grill

Qdoba

Honey grow

(Google is a great help as well if you google vegan restaurants and allow it to pick up your location)

Always remember to read the label before you buy anything and make sure your items are free from dairy, gelatin, casein, or any other non-vegan ingredient.

This isn’t an expensive challenge at all. Here are some benefits to look forward to if you take on this challenge:

Weight loss- yes, you may lose weight

Saving money- you will likely eat out less and you aren’t buying meats and seafood for 30 days

Stomach issues- for me, I have a lot less stomach issues that I used to experience

Self-control- if you can manage to complete this, you will be proud of your self-control

With every challenge comes disadvantages so I won’t pretend like there aren’t any so let’s discuss now before you take on this challenge. If you are already a picky eater, this is going to be difficult because you have less options. Also, if you are used to going out to dinner with friends and family, choosing a restaurant that caters to everyone can be tough. However if they have vegetarian options, you can easily make some adjustments. Most of the vegetarian options have cheese so just ask for no cheese. Lack of protein is something you will discover as well but just eat more foods that contain protein like beans, or add vegan protein powder to your smoothies. Also, another disadvantage is cooking different meals for your family if you cannot persuade them to eat what you’re eating. Last but surely not least is just having the urge to eat a non-vegan item just because it’s right in front of you (self-control, remember?).

30 days isn’t as bad as you may think. My goal is NOT to turn anyone into a vegan trust me. However challenging people to do something new and different is all about self-improvement, growth and showing yourself you can do whatever you want if you apply yourself. Let me know if you are up for this challenge. If you think 30 days is too much, just do 2 weeks and see how you feel.